Virginia’s slogan
is “Virginia is for Lovers.” I’m not exactly sure where that came from,
but I can tell you that we loved
Virginia! I can’t imagine anywhere more beautiful than
Virginia in autumn.
Blackstone lies in
Nottoway County in Southside Virginia. For
three centuries, tobacco was the dominant source of economy for Virginia and
Blackstone area was no exception. There
were many families who for centuries had farmed the very land they lived on and
they continue in this proud tradition of family ownership even today. Of course, during the depression and
following years, the growing of tobacco became less lucrative. Nevertheless, most families maintain their
farms in whatever way proves profitable to them and live in the beautiful old farm
homes of their forefathers.
During WWII and
beyond, Fort Pickett, was an active Army base, but was closed sometime in the
mid to latter part of the 1990’s.
Through the hard work of the local town fathers and citizens, the base
was kept in use by the VA National Guard locating their state headquarters
there, which was a big boost to the economy for the area that had felt the
economic spiral of less tobacco farming, as well as tobacco use. The town needed the local business that Fort
Pickett brought, not only in sales of goods, but in growth from construction of
new homes.
We moved into a
furnished apartment in a private home on Main Street. The owner was a local businessman. Danny and Gloria took us under their wings
and invited us to the Crenshaw United Methodist Church right away. We were welcomed with open arms. Every morning, I would stroll downtown and
window shop. Everyone I saw spoke to me
or waved from their cars. Soon, we knew
just about the whole town. Gloria
would take me with her to Richmond for a day of shopping and told me all the
best places to shop. She, like me, loved
a bargain! We were a foursome and to
this day, remain good friends and I am forever grateful for their generous
kindnesses to us, including us in everything to make us feel welcome.
Along about
November, when the leaves had fallen, but the weather was still warm enough to
be outside, Sollie and I decided to go to a local estate auction. Neither of us had ever been to an auction
held in somebody’s yard before. Stuff
covered the entire property! Beautiful
antiques, china, and silver, along with all sorts of collectibles, linens,
household goods, etc., was placed on tables or in box lots. The crowd was huge.
Estate auctions
are taken seriously in Virginia. People
know what they want and how to get it. We
asked somebody how to bid, and they directed us to the trailer that was set up
to give out numbers and register bidders.
When the auction started, the Auctioneer announced that the property
would be auctioned as well and it would be in three parcels. He said the house was open for inspection as
was the former barn or carriage house which had been converted into two
apartments. One up and one down. Then there were several building lots across
the street that also was part of the property.
All the local
folks knew it, but the home had been in the family of the owners since it was
built in 1900. They were prominent
people, but had to go to a nursing home and their two children did not want to
keep the property. Sollie and I decided
we’d go inside and take a look, just for the hang of it. Inside, we found the huge rooms, high
ceilings, bulls eye moldings, French doors to the dining room, fireplaces with columned
mantles and beveled mirrors. The dining
room’s wallpaper was old and yellowed with nicotine, but still showed a
beautiful green toile scene of the George Washington era. There was a butler’s pantry, a stove that
must have come over on the Mayflower, and cabinets that went all the way to the
ceilings. It was heated by steam heat
and each room had an old radiator that was putting out heat, as if were brand
new. The original old wavy glass was
still in each window.
The front entrance
had a porch that wrapped around both sides.
The grounds had mature boxwoods, lilac bushes, peonies, daffodils,
asters, huge old fashioned spyria, lily of the valley, pyracantha and holly
just loaded with red berries, and a total of 13 very huge pecan trees, maple
and oak trees, and across the street, the lots were wooded with tall green
pines. What was there NOT to like about
this place? It only needed
cosmetics. I had always wanted an old
home and loved to restore furniture so this would be a piece of heaven and
Sollie’s office was just a few blocks away.
We’d have plenty of time.
I guess by now,
you’ve figured out that on that day in November, we bought that house, apartments,
and the lots across the street. I’ll add
here, for less money than we ever dreamed possible. When it was over and the dust was clearing,
we looked at each other and said, “What in the world were we thinking?”
We moved into the
house in December and immediately started working on the “cosmetic” part. Oh Lord.
Do you know the phrase “money pit?”
